Nice to see someone agrees

No

Mon, 2013-07-29 10:39

Broadband data speed issue is plaguing many in the country, another blogger heard from.

Not two weeks ago, I posted a blog about a problem that agriculture must solve it it's going to join other 21st Century businesses for data use - broadband access. It should be a hot topic and perhaps if enough rural bloggers complain about their service we can get this fixed.

In my mind it may be even more important than Panera dissing farmers - in the long run your business will require a good way to move data and access information. But getting folks riled about that is a little harder.

Over at Daily Yonder, a rural news project of the Center for Rural Strategies, a non-profit group that focuses on rural issues, there was a call for more support for rural broadband.

A blogger to the site who lives near Albany, N.Y. offered an in-depth comment on his experience with rural broadband, noting the maps he sees don't always match up with the reality he experiences in the country. It's an issue.

If you're tracking equipment, passing files back and forth, counting on Web-based apps and more - then a poor connection is going to be a real issue for you. This is critical infrastructure and the author of this blog points it out.

Something worth reading as you try to get your head around just what it means to have good Web access. As someone with a land-based (wired) connection to the Web who occasionally uses a cellular card to connect to the Internet, I have seen the inconsistent service.

Track it closely for your farm and see if your service is already fast enough - and reliable enough - to manage data the way you want to for the future. If not it's time to seek alternatives, and if they're few and far between it may mean taking political action in your neighborhood to improve what's available.